Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Tinder Most Used Dating App Now

FORBES - Mar 29 - The 2020 SKYN Condoms Sex & Intimacy Survey was not designed to examine the current or post-COVID-19 world. Its data gathering and results just happened to take place while the global pandemic was getting its boots on and heading out from Wuhan. According to Skyn, 39% of respondents used Tinder over its rivals to find love. Generation Z folks said they were more likely than Millennials to use Tinder (48% to 36%). #2 was Match.com (33%) and #3 Bumble (19%).

by John Scott Lewinski
See full article at Forbes

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Online Dating Gets Political With Match.com's New Profiles

FORBES - Mar 9 - Match users setting up their dating profiles can now choose from one of nine "political view" options. They can pick anything from "apolitical" or "independent" to "moderate" or "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" - with the standard polarized camps of "progressive" or "conservative" also standing ready.

by John Scott Lewinski
See full article at Forbes

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The Top Dating Industry News for Feb 25th

OPW - Feb 25 - Top grossing dating app, How much Americans spend on dates, Match.com new safety feature.

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Match.com Lets Users Alert Friends When Their Date Goes Bad

TOM'S GUIDE - Feb 19 - The Date Check-in feature is the latest safety measure for Match Group's dating apps. With the Date Check-In on Match.com, users are able to let people know they're on a date and to send them an SOS if they're feeling unsafe during the date. Tinder added a similar safety feature last month. In the case of Tinder, the safety features tie into a separate Noonlight app that also provides a panic button for alerting people when they feel unsafe.

by Philip Michaels
See full article at Tom's Guide

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Report: Dating Site & Ad Tracking

MASHABLE - Feb 11 - A new report from Ghostery, which creates products to detect and block data trackers, reveals which dating sites are using ad trackers. A data tracker is a snippet of code that companies such as Facebook and Amazon can implement onto other sites. Ad trackers on dating sites, for example, retarget the user on other websites. If a user goes to Match.com, the next time they go on Facebook they may be served an ad for Match.

by Anna Iovine
See full article at Mashable

History of the '90s Podcast: The Birth of Online Dating

GLOBAL NEWS - Jan 8 - On this episode of History of the '90s, host Kathy Kenzora looks back at the creation of online dating and how it became such a normal part of our lives. She talked to Gary Kremen, the creator of Match.com, the first mainstream dating website, and asked him what inspired him to use the Internet to solve the age-old problem of finding a perfect match.

See full article at Global Match

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This Is the Hottest Time of Year for Online Dating

MARKETWATCH - Dec 31 - For many singles, the holidays are the loneliest time of year and, in the New Year, the $3B dating industry sees a surge in users. Zoosk typically sees a 20% jump in users in the first two weeks of the year and eHarmony sees a similar increase in mobile registrations since the holidays. Grindr usually experiences a 30%-plus increase in users over the holiday season. Match.com and OKCupid also see an uptick between Christmas and Valentine's Day. "Many singles sit around the family dinner table during the holidays and think, 'Maybe it would be better to have a partner," says Mark Brooks, a dating-industry analyst and the editor of Online Personals Watch. "That's when they start hitting dating sites in droves and go on dates before the indigestion sets in."

by Quentin Fottrell
See full article at Marketwatch

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Tinder Lets Sex Offenders Use the App

PROPUBLICA - Dec 2 - Match Group screens for sexual predators on Match, but not on Tinder, OkCupid or PlentyofFish. A spokesperson said: "There are definitely registered sex offenders on our free products." Match first agreed to screen for registered sex offenders in 2011 after a lawsuit. A Match Group spokesperson said the company cannot implement a uniform screening protocol because it doesn't collect enough information from its free users, and that background checks do little more than create "a false sense of security" among users. "Our checks of the sex offender registry can only be as good as the information we receive," she said, explaining that the government databases can lack data, have old pictures or include partial information. Herb Vest, founder of dating site True.com used to pay ~ $1M a year for third-party services like rapsheets.com and backgroundchecks.com. True.com even warned subscribers that the company would sue if they misrepresented their pasts. True ultimately folded in 2013 but Mr Vest insists the cost of doing background checks didn't play a role in his company's closing. "People can't rely 100% on the sites," Vest said. "But as an industry, we could have done much better."

by Hillary Flynn, Keith Cousins & Elizabeth Naismith Picciani
See full article at ProPublica

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Match Offers Holiday Hotline to Provide Dating and Relationship Advice

ASKMEN - Nov 26 - This year, Match is providing a Holiday Hotline. Singles who have found themselves seriously unlucky in love can dial 1-888-302-6224 to connect with one of the dating service's highly trained relationship experts. The service goes live on November 25, will run for a two-week period, and is available from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. CST during weekends.

by Christina Majaski
See full article at AskMen

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Helen Fisher: How Does Love Affect the Brain

NPR - Nov 26 - Helen Fisher says love is a biological drive and a survival mechanism. She discusses the science of love and how much control we have over who we love, how we love, and whether that love lasts.

See full article at NPR

Match Group Q3 Earnings, Shares Plummet Following a Weak Q4 Forecast

WSJ - Nov 6 - In Q3, Match Group's profit rose to $151.5M, from $130M in Q3 '18. The revenue rose 22% YOY to $541.5M, topping analysts' expectations of $540.7M. Yet total operating costs and expenses jumped 20% in the quarter as selling and marketing, product development, amortization and general operating expenses nudged higher. Overall average subscribers rose to 9.6M in the latest quarter, up from 8.1M in the year-ago period. Shares of Match Group dropped 16% after the company's financial targets for the current quarter came in below analysts' estimates. Match Group said it expects total revenue for the Q4 to be $545M - $555M, falling below analysts' estimates of $559M in revenue. Match also projected adjusted EBITDA in the range of $205M to $210M, behind analysts'target of $228M, and also said it expects to spend ~$25M in long-term investments and incremental legal costs in the Q4. Match Group is involved in several legal tussles, most recently with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that it induced nonpaying users to subscribe to its Match.com app based on "fake profiles." Match is also involved in an intellectual-property battle with Bumble, as well as multiple suits against a Tinder co-founder.

by Kimberly Chin
See full article at Wall Steet Journal

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Millennials Are Too Broke to Date

THE MOTLEY FOOL - Oct 31 - According to Match.com, 33% of young singles believe that their financial situation is getting in the way of dating. 20% don't even think they should be dating at all until they achieve a particular income level. According to a study on underemployment by The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), in 2018, 11% of young college graduates were underemployed, up from 9.4% in 2007 and 6.9% in 2000. The term underemployed includes graduates who are unemployed as well as those who could only find part-time jobs. Other research puts the total unemployment rate for millennials at over 12%, which is much higher than the national average. A study by The Ascent found that 63% of millennials still depended on their folks financially to some extent. In 2018, the average cost of a date - including two dinners, one bottle of wine, and two movie tickets - was $102.

by Dana George
See full article at The Motley Fool

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Barry Diller: Facebook Is No Match for Match.com

FOX BUSINESS - Oct 16 - Facebook is not the place to go for online dating, according to IAC and Expedia chairman and senior executive Barry Diller. He said that if a company focuses on one thing, it will tend to do it better than others who are "dabbling." "The truth is we have not yet seen competition from Facebook," Diller said. "It's our business. For them, it's a little side business."

by Catie Perry
See full article at Fox Business

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Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Investors of Match Group

GLOBE NEWSWIRE - Oct 3 - Pomerantz is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Match Group whether Match and its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. On Sep 25, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had sued Match.com for, among other things, using artificial "love interest" ads to deceive consumers into buying or upgrading subscriptions, failing to resolve disputed charges, and intentionally making it difficult to cancel subscriptions.

See full article at Globe Newswire

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"Fraud" Isn't a Word Investors Want Associated With a Dating Platform

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Oct 4 - The Federal Trade Commission alleges, among other things, that Match induced nonpaying users to subscribe to its Match.com app based on "fake love advertisements" identified as potentially fraudulent. Suits against other dating platforms brought by the FTC over the past several years have resulted in settlements requiring companies to change business practices, enhance security and provide some monetary compensation to deceived consumers. Match's stock, which is up 73% in the year to date, has fallen 12% over the past month. Since the FTC's claims date back two years, it doesn’t appear that this case will resolve itself soon. None of the practices the FTC is alleging remain in place today, according to the company.

by Laura Forman
See full article at Wall Street Journal

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Match.com Sued by FTC for Using Scammers' Profiles to Lure Subscribers

FTC - Sep 26 - The Federal Trade Commission is suing Match Group for allegedly using fake accounts to get more people to sign up for paid subscriptions. "We believe that Match.com conned people into paying for subscriptions via messages the company knew were from scammers," said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Match allows users to create profiles free of charge, but prohibits them from responding to messages without paying. The FTC alleges that millions of contacts that generated Match's "You caught his eye" notices came from accounts the company had already flagged as likely to be fraudulent. By contrast, Match prevented existing subscribers from receiving emails from a suspected fraudulent account. In a statement, Match Group dismissed the FTC accusations as "completely meritless" and says the allegations are supported by "consciously misleading figures." The FTC also alleges Match deceptively induced consumers to subscribe to Match.com by promising them a free six-month subscription if they did not "meet someone special," without adequately disclosing that consumers must meet numerous requirements before the company would honor the guarantee.

See full article at FTC website and Forbes

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60% of Women Have 'Dumbed Down' on a Date

MIRROR.CO.UK - Sep 17 - A new survey by Match asked 2K participants about their behaviours when it comes to dating. 52% of female respondents struggle to find someone who stimulates them intellectually, with 37% feeling like they intimate men with their intelligence. 59% have actually 'dumbed down' on a date to seem less intelligent. But 82% of respondents said they’d go on a date with someone who wasn't clever, as long as they were attractive.

by Shivali Best
See full article at Mirror.co.uk

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Facebook Dating vs. Match.com vs. Tinder

BENZINGA - Sep 8 - Here's a comparison of Facebook Dating with Match.com and Tinder.

Cost
Facebook - Free. At first, it will also be without ads
Match.com - A basic profile is free. The premium annual subscription is ~$20 a month.
Tinder: Basic Tinder is free. Tinder Plus costs $9.99/month.

Safety
Facebook: Lets users on a date share real-time location with friends on Facebook Messenger.
Match.com: Report abuse or assault in the app or online.

User Numbers
Facebook: Unknown; Facebook hasn't disclosed.
Match.com: Average subscribers on all of Match Group's apps grew 18% to 9.1M in the Q2 of 2019.
Tinder: 5.2M as of Q2 2019

How Old Are These People?
Facebook: undisclosed, but users on the overall platform are between 25 and 34
Match.com: 28% are 54- 74, 36% are 39 - 53 and 31% are 24 - 38

by Dave Royse
See full article at Yahoo Finance

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Top Dating News - Facebook Dating, (Ask)Match, and Blued's IPO

OPW - Sep 3 - Here's the top dating news in ~2 minutes. Subscribe to Two Minute Tuesdays (TMT) on Youtube (and turn on notifications) or to the podcast on Breaker, Google podcasts, Spotify, Anchor or Stitcher. 

Match.com Goes Beyond Just Setting up the First Date

DALLAS INNOVATES - Aug 30 - Hesam Hosseini, the new CEO at Match.com, talks about Match.com's makeover. He and his team have completely overhauled the app so much that it's unrecognizable from a year ago. Hosseini wants to slow people down, there's a strict no swiping rule on Match, so users have to deliberately spend more than a second on somebody's profile. "Match has never been about quantity. It's always been about quality," he says. "We have to date a little bit smarter, helping people realize what they want and getting them to change their behavior." The app has launched AskMatch, a "dating coach" service that's free and available to all paying members. Users can speak to a highly trained coach over the phone to ask about anything concerning their dating life. AskMatch is currently being introduced across the country.

by Alex Edwards
See full article at Dallas Innovates

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